Mick Schumacher will not return to F1 in 2025 with Sauber, which has chosen Gabriel Bortoleto; is the German’s career over? Sauber-Audi has made its decision: Mick Schumacher will not be Nico Hulkenberg’s teammate next season. Instead, the team has selected Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto, currently in contention with Isack Hadjar for the F2 championship, who will make his F1 debut in 2025.
Mick Schumacher had recently been among the possible driver candidates for Sauber in the 2025 season, on a list that included current drivers Bottas and Zhou, as well as Argentinian Franco Colapinto, whose debut has shifted the plans of several teams for the future, including Red Bull. In the end, however, the 2020 F2 champion was overlooked by the Swiss team and will be absent from the F1 lineup for the third consecutive year.
Mick Schumacher’s Career
Mick Schumacher made his F1 debut in 2021 driving the Haas VF-21, the least competitive car in the history of the American team, where he scored zero points and consistently finished at the back with teammate Nikita Mazepin. The 2022 season was better, with flashes of speed and solid performances in a few races that earned him 16th place with 12 points, but it wasn’t enough: the American team opted for the return of Nico Hulkenberg.
Mercedes continued to support Schumacher, offering him a third driver and testing contract, allowing him to drive the Mercedes W14 and McLaren MCL60 in the 2023 Barcelona and Portimao tests. In 2024, he debuted in the WEC Hypercar category, driving the Alpine A424. His “loan” to Alpine also enabled him to drive the Alpine A522, the 2022 F1 car, during a test session at Paul Ricard.
Schumacher’s return to F1 in 2025 seemed almost certain. He was rumored as a potential teammate to Albon at Williams, but the British team chose Carlos Sainz. He was suggested as a late-season replacement for Sargeant, but Williams opted for their Academy driver, Franco Colapinto. He was also mentioned as a possible Mercedes teammate for George Russell if Kimi Antonelli was promoted to Williams, but Mercedes decided to promote the Italian driver directly without a step through Grove. He was linked as a potential teammate to Gasly at Alpine, but Australian Jack Doohan was chosen instead. And finally, he was considered for the Sauber-Audi seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg, but the team went with Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto.
A Faster and “Younger” F1
Does the failure to secure the Sauber seat in 2025 mean the end of Mick Schumacher’s F1 career? Not necessarily, as the German still considers F1 his top priority. However, time is not on his side.
F1 is getting faster, not only on the track but also in terms of debuting drivers. The average debut age has dropped significantly in recent years: Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, and Kimi Antonelli were born in 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively, far younger than Mick Schumacher, Drugovich, and Pourchaire, who were born in 1999, 2000, and 2003. Ironically, Mick Schumacher, at 25, is the “oldest” of this group, but even the three F2 champions are already “out of time,” as Pourchaire himself has said—despite being only 21, the Frenchman is aware he may never secure an F1 seat.
The fomer Ferrari Driver Academy member remains available for F1, and perhaps there will still be an opportunity to see the F2 champion as a main driver in the coming years. Unfortunately for him and many other young, promising drivers, F1 teams are already focusing on drivers born in the late 2000s.
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